The present invention relates to an adjustable baby bottle holder for use on a hand crib. The adjustable holder for a hand crib is used for holding a toy, baby bottle or other object in close proximity to the baby. The adjustable holder provides hands free feeding or entertainment of an infant. More particularly, the present invention pertains to devices that are attached to hand cribs that allow the toy or baby bottle to remain in or near the baby""s hands or mouth without the continuous assistance of an attendant. Hand carried cribs require the use of at least one of the hands of the person carrying the crib. It is very difficult and awkward to hold a baby bottle, while also carry the hand crib. There is a need for an adjustable baby bottle holder that will easily attach to a hand crib and accommodate different sized hand crib handles with just one attachment mechanism.
Most of the prior art baby bottle holder devices are restricted in some direction of their movement and many are not designed to be attached to a hand crib. Unfortunately, the prior art devices typically are designed to be positioned by an adult, but they are not flexible enough with minimal friction to move with the child""s mouth or hands.
Flexible arms are often used to position the bottle near the child. The flexible arms must be rigid enough to hold the weight of the bottle or toy, as such they are often too rigid to allow a young baby to move the bottle or toy by themselves just by the strength of their own head or hand movement.
The prior art devices show that there is a need for an adjustable baby bottle holder that will hold varying objects in close proximity to a child. Additionally, when the object is a baby bottle the holder needs to be movable in conformance with the head movements of the baby.
An objective of the present invention, an adjustable baby bottle holder for a hand crib, is creating a device that will hold varying objects in close proximity to a child. A second objective of the adjustable baby bottle holder is easy attachment to a hand crib and accommodating different sized hand crib handles with just one attachment mechanism.
An additional objective of the adjustable baby bottle holder for hand crib is the holding of an adjustable baby bottle holder, which provides multiple directions of low resistance movement. The movement by the baby bottle holder in multiple spatial directions allows the bottle to remain in the baby""s mouth despite head movement by the baby. Directions of head movement side-to-side and up or down.
An adjustable baby bottle holder for hand crib includes a clipping member having a central body, a first tip and a second tip. A flexible attaching member accepts the clipping member. The flexible attaching member has a partially open base, a centerline, a first extension and a second extension. The partially open base forms an interior channel that accepts the handle of a hand crib. The first extension has teeth, a first end and a first base end. The second extension also has teeth, a second end and a second base end. A connecting member is connected to the attaching member.
The teeth on the first extension form valleys between each tooth. The valleys of the first extension and the centerline are separated by a distance xe2x80x98d1xe2x80x99 that gradually decreases from the first base end to the first end. The first tip is accepted by the valleys on the first extension. The second extension forms valleys between each tooth. The valleys of the second extension and the centerline are separated by a distance xe2x80x98d2xe2x80x99, with xe2x80x98d2xe2x80x99 gradually decreasing from the second base end to the second end. The second tip is accepted by the valleys on the second extension.
The first extension has a first inside edge and the second extension has a second inside edge. The first inside edge and the second inside edge form an angle xe2x80x98xcex1xe2x80x99 that is greater than 20 degrees prior to accepting the clipping member. The interior channel is substantially cylindrical between the first base end and the second base end. The flexible moving arm is attached to the connecting member and a gripping member is attached to the flexible moving arm. The connecting member has a ball joint that accepts the flexible moving arm.
Alternately a rotating arm can be included that is attached to the connecting member. The connecting member has a mound that rotatably accepts the rotating arm. Then She flexible moving arm is attached to the rotating arm and the gripping member is attached to the flexible moving arm. The rotating arm has a ball joint that accepts the flexible moving arm. The interior channel has a rubber pad that minimizes scratching or marring of the crib handle.
The gripping member can be an adjustable baby bottle holder. The gripping member has a first grasping member that can hold a baby bottle and the flexible attaching member can be secured with the clipping member to the handle of the hand crib.
The gripping member, which is an adjustable baby bottle holder, attaches to the flexible moving arm at the joint end. A rotating member is attached to the joint end of the flexible arm member. A top bar is rotatably attached to the rotating member. A bottom bar is attached to the top bar. The bottom bar and the top bar are substantially cylindrical in shape. The bottom bar is attached to the top bar by a back bar and a front bar. A grasping member is rotatably attached to the bottom bar.
The gripping member includes one or more fingers that are part of the grasping member. The fingers are a semicircle shape about the same diameter as the bottle which the grasping member is designed to hold, such that the fingers of the grasping member clasp about the bottle. The first grasping member is removably attached to the bottom bar such that the grasping member may be interchanged with a second grasping member having fingers that are of differing diameter than the first grasping member. The varying sized fingers can grasp different size baby bottles. The grasping member has a force fit snap-on mechanism that attaches to the rotating member.
The gripping member can take various forms that allow the gripping member to accept objects other than baby bottles. The object can be a toy, baby bottle or any other object that nurtures, entertains or distracts the baby. When the gripping member holds a toy, the flexible moving arm can be moved to position the toy near the baby""s hands. If the gripping member holds a baby bottle, the flexible moving arm can be moved to position the baby bottle closer to the baby""s mouth.
The first grasping member is designed to hold a baby bottle. The flexible arm can be moved and positioned such that the baby bottle is near the mouth of the baby. The baby bottle can move with the baby and remain in the baby""s mouth since the rotating member rotates about the top bar. With the adjustable arm member the bottle can easily be tilted upward to prevent leaking of fluid from the nipple. This advantage applies when the baby is taking a short break from feeding so the bottle is temporarily not in use. The feature is also advantageous when the baby falls asleep while feeding where the bottle will remain generally in its established position and not lay nipple pointed downward prone to leaking.
The following drawings and description of the drawings provide greater specificity and detail of the elements of the invention.